A report by Apple Insider on 7th of June says that Apple has been granted the patent for liquid resistant speaker ports and ‘bone conduction’ technology for their earphones that promise to take noise cancellation to a whole new level. This is surely another attempt by the company to stay on top in the technology market.

The first of the patents approved by the US Patent and Trademark office called ‘Liquid Resistant Acoustic Device,’ uses a special mesh umbrella to cover the speaker. The function of the umbrella is to absorb or push away any liquid that makes its way in. However in the case of a threat to the structure of the phone, a small amount of liquid will be allowed to go in.

There have been rumors that the iPhone 7is going to be waterproof, and no official statement has been made by the company, but this sure is a sign.

The second part of the patent refers to a hydrophobic coating to cover the outer surface of the phone and the mesh umbrella. A similar coating is also there on the inside to draw the liquid out.

The other patent is about the bone-conducting headset that the company is working on. The device uses an accelerometer to detect vocal chord vibrations reverberating from the user’s skull. This allows it to filter the ambient noise by measuring output signals.

Whether the company decides to release the technology or sit on it for a while, is a matter of their judgment and our time, but the company has the history of sitting on technology until ‘the world is ready for it.’ However, the technological advancements in Android have started to push the iPhones back, and this could be an opening for them to make it back to the top of the food chain.